Chapter 36

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Chapter 36

Leila said this with a pointed tone as she looked over at McCain.

“There’s nothing to do here.”

“Nothing? There were so many places I wanted you to…!”

“I didn’t really like it.”

McCain glanced at me and answered.

“You too… Ah! Sorry, Astell. I was very surprised to hear that McCain had become the commander of the Duchy of Einer’s knights.”

“No. I still wonder why a talented person like the Sir chose our household.”

I said with a look on my face that I didn’t feel bad at all.

“I decide where I will be.”

My eyes met McCain, who was staring at me firmly and straight.

“It doesn’t have to be our household, though.”

At that time, a rare cold and sharp voice came from Bleon, who had been sitting still by my side.

“No. It must be the Einer Duchy.”

McCain’s voice suddenly hardened.

‘These men…!’

That’s why I couldn’t leave these two together. I regret bringing Bleon here, and while thinking about how to deal with the situation, Leila just opened her mouth.

“The two of you have a good relationship. So, shall we talk, just us girls?”

It was apparent that they didn’t get along well, but Leila seemed to say that on purpose.

“When the weather is nice, I leave the men alone and go for a walk. I’ll show you the garden, Astell. It’s the pride of the Parkers Duchy.”

“Wife…!”

And again, Bleon called me with an anxious voice. Not knowing what would happen again if I left them alone, I looked at Leila, Bleon, and McCain alternately with a puzzled expression.

“You wouldn’t have come to me for no reason, so let’s talk quietly, just the two of us.”

Yes. I came here for this purpose. After pulling myself together, I nodded my head to Leila and replied.

“Yes, alright. Let’s go.”

With that said, I gave the two men a warning look with a firm gaze. It meant that I would not forgive if the same thing happened again. Leila stepped out of the parlor, leaving the two men behind. And I followed her to the garden.

“Wow, the garden is so pretty.”

“Right?”

“Yes. I have never seen such a variety of flowers.”

“These are flowers that have been painstakingly ordered from all over the continent.”

“Do you like flowers?”

“Yes. I like pretty things. Pretty people, and pretty flowers.”

What? Did I hear it right? I was not sure what Leila meant by saying that, so I kept my mouth shut, and Leila spoke straight to me.

“That’s why I like Astell.”

“Me?”

I looked at Leila with eyes full of doubts at the unexpected words.

“Yes. I have liked people since I was young, and there are times when I know who they are as soon as I see them. I felt it at first sight. I know that Astell is a beautiful person, both inside and outside.”

“…Thank you for saying that. I like Leila a lot too.”

“Really? I’m so happy.”

Leila replied with a bright smile as if she really was glad.

We walked around the garden having such a normal conversation. There were various flowers, but because they were planted in separate areas, I could smell a different scent every time I took a step. And since it was summer, the scent of flowers was transmitted even more intensely.

“Shall we sit over there?”

After walking around the garden for a while, Leila pointed to a bench in the shade.

“Yes, that would be great.”

We sat side by side on the bench.

“It’s cool in the shade.”

“It’s one of my favorite places.”

“I like it a lot too. Thank you so much for bringing me here.”

“If you like it, you can come here often.”

“Yes?”

“I want to be good friends with Astell. If we want to become friends, we have to see each other often, don’t we?”

Friends… It was a relationship I had never thought of here before, so I felt a little dazed, but somehow moved.

“Yes, I hope to be good friends with Leila, too. When there’s time, I will come to visit often.”

“You must.”

We smiled broadly at each other.

“By the way, I heard there’s a reason you want to meet me.”

Fortunately, Leila was the first to speak out.

“Actually, I’m slowly settling here at the capital, but I want to know more about high society. There are a lot of things I don’t know because I’ve been in Kren for the last decade.”

“What specifically do you want to know?”

“…I want to know about the Heines Marquisate. As you may know, I am not that close with my family. Above all, we are worse than strangers because we haven’t talked for ten years. So I was curious about the current situation of the Heines family, so I came to talk to you, Leila.”

It was strange for anyone to ask others about their own family’s affairs. However, the nobles of the capital knew very well how they treated me, so I made excuses by emphasizing that I was inferior to them.

“The Heines Marquisate…”

At my words, she pondered for a moment. I quietly waited for Leila to open her lips.

“First of all, I also have eyes for seeing and ears for listening, so I know Astell’s circumstances.”

I was relieved to hear that Leila knew.

“But anyway, wouldn’t it be better to ask directly than to hear from me?”

If that had been possible, I wouldn’t even have come to visit her. I hadn’t known Leila for very long, but I believed in Leila and wanted to ask for her help. So I decided not to beat around the bush and just went straight for a fastball.

“Since you said you know my circumstances, then I’ll tell you honestly. Tomorrow, I am going to meet my family after a long time. I was invited to dinner. But since it’s been ten years since I’ve seen them, I’m really scared. What they said and did to me still haunts me. But now I want to get over it. I want to show a proud and dignified image in front of my family. That is why I desperately need information about the Heines Marquisate.”

I spoke nonstop. I hope that my desperation and plight will reach her. Leila, who was looking at me quietly, opened her mouth after a moment.

“I’ve heard some things, too, but I don’t know the details. If you want to hear that, then yes, I can tell you.”

“Thank you. Leila.”

She smiled broadly as I thanked her first.

“First of all, about Julia Lupeta—though she is now Julia Heines again. I heard she got a divorce a year ago, and I heard it was an affair. Actually, it’s not special for us nobles to meet other people behind the spouse’s back, right? However, the fact that she got a divorce for that reason is a bit absurd, and when she appears in social circles, she has a bad reputation because she was famous for going to this man and that man.”

If it was Julia, she was arrogant about her own beauty, so I nodded. I already thought that the way she looked at Bleon was suspicious yesterday, and I’m still in a bad mood because I knew what kind of gaze lingered on Bleon as she looked at him.

“And Michael Heines has a worse reputation. He was originally famous that he was obsessed with women and sexually promiscuous, but recently he is also involved in drugs to attract nobles.”

“Drugs?”

“Yes. In fact, drugs are not a concern among nobles, but I’ve heard that they’re very addictive and make people very violent, so it’s terribly dangerous. Some of the recent crimes and deaths of nobles in the capital are said to be attributed to the drug. And…”

I could see Leila, who was continuing her conversation in a cool way, that she was suddenly hesitant about what she was going to say.

“I want you to tell me everything.”

“But this is just a rumor.”

“It’s okay.”

I stared at her with a soft expression, which meant to talk to me at ease.

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